Land use change and demographic factors directly or indirectly affect ecosystem services value, and the analysis of ecosystem services contributes to optimization of land planning, which is essential for regional sustainable development. In this study, ArcGIS 10.2, IDRISI 17.0 Selva and MATLAB software, value coefficient method, CA-Markov prediction model and population growth model were applied to analyze the spatial and temporal changes of land use trends and ecosystem service values in Guanzhong region, and further predict the impacts of land type changes and population changes on ecosystem services in the context of urbanization. Results showed that the expansion of construction land was the most intense, and the transfer process mainly crowded out arable land; the total ecosystem services value grew spatially in a “low center-high periphery” ring with large differences at the bottom, and forest land was the most important value provider. The total ecosystem services value was estimated to decline in the future, with low-value areas spreading northward and differences in the per capita ecosystem services value increasing. This study provides a reference for optimal simulation of urban expansion and ecological conservation.

Urbanization trades off the value of ecosystem services for economic value, either directly or indirectly. Optimizing the synergistic effects of both and identifying the coupled influences associated with human activities are essential for sustainable regional development and policy formulation. In this study, we analyzed the spatial differentiation of regional ecosystem service values and urbanization using ArcGIS 10.2, STATA 15.1, the value coefficient method, the urbanization index model, and the coupled coordination model, assessed their coupled coordination status, and further explored the influencing factors, taking the Guanzhong region of China as an example. The results show that the substrate has an important influence on ecosystem service values, with woodlands being the most important value provider and the largest contribution of regulating service values, with a spatial “center-periphery” ring-band growth distribution. There is a clear hierarchy of urbanization, with the higher the administrative level, the higher the level of urbanization. The overall coupling and coordination of ecosystem services and urbanization is in a non-equilibrium state, with high levels in the south and low levels in the north. Further research on the factors influencing the coupling found that the disposable income of urban residents and the population employed in the tertiary industry had the greatest influence.

In addition to greater precipitation on extreme days of precipitation, preceding and succeeding precipitation (PSP) is often an objective component of flooding in the mid–lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin (MLRYRB). In this study, focused on the temporal distribution pattern of precipitation, the concept of an extreme precipitation event (EPE), defined as a consecutive precipitation event having at least one daily precipitation extreme, is proposed to consider PSP in an extreme event. We analyzed the spatiotemporal variation of four types of EPEs based on daily data obtained from 130 monitoring stations covering 1960–2019. Extreme precipitation increased significantly over the last 60 years (p < 0.01). The frequency and precipitation amount of single-day EPEs accounted for only 13% and 21%, respectively, while multi-day continuous EPE types that are associated with PSP accounted for 87% and 79%, respectively, confirming the connotations of EPEs. The front and late EPEs under the 100-year return level reached 250 mm and 230 mm, respectively. Furthermore, climate warming could lead to significant increases in the frequency of single-day and late EPEs, particularly in the southern region. The EPE concept may be helpful in exploring disaster-causing processes under extreme weather, and it provides a theoretical basis for deriving the precipitation hazard chain, which is more applicable to basins with long precipitation durations.

Rural residences in Guanzhong area have suffered from poor indoor thermal environment and backward energy-saving methods for a long time in winter. In order to study the local thermal environment, improve residents’s thermal comfort in winter and reduce building energy consumption. The research team conducted a typical winter solstice day Conduct thermal environment test and field survey on typical residential buildings in Guanzhong area, and quantify the test data to get the results: 1. Local solar energy resources have a certain potential. 2. The indoor thermal environment is severely humid and cold so that thermal comfort is low. 3. The first floor of residential buildings can basically meet thermal comfort requirements. According to the results of energy consumption calculations, Guanzhong’s farm buildings consume too much energy. In response to the national energy conservation and emission reduction policy, some improvement measures are needed to improve the atmospheric environment. Taking into account the local climate adaptability, residents’ living habits and economic conditions, measures are proposed to reduce the area of the north window by a certain percentage, install additional sunshine rooms, and transform the second floor south to a balcony.

Rapid urbanization reshapes landscape structure and threatens ecosystem services, yet operational ecological benchmarks for environmental impact assessment remain limited. Focusing on China’s Guanzhong region, this study examines how landscape fragmentation influences the ecosystem service value (ESV) and identifies critical threshold points for planning and management, using land-use data from 1990 to 2020 combined with spatial and statistical analyses. The results show that urban expansion substantially increased landscape fragmentation, with patch density rising by 109%, and contagion declining by 83.7%. Although the total ESV showed partial recovery over the study period, the landscape pattern mediated approximately 62% of the total effect of land-use change on ESV, constituting the dominant transmission pathway. Three actionable thresholds were identified: patch density of 1.2 patches·km⁻², the largest patch index of 18%, and contagion of 15%. Beyond these breakpoints, ESV loss accelerates sharply, with the most pronounced rate increase reaching 355.6%. These findings provide region-specific reference values to support environmental impact assessment, ecological zoning, and land-use regulation in rapidly urbanizing areas.